Sentencing Decisions Around Quantity Thresholds: Theory and Experiment

49 Pages Posted: 10 Jun 2021 Last revised: 17 Dec 2021

See all articles by Jakub Drápal

Jakub Drápal

Charles University in Prague, Faculty of Law; Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic - Institute of State and Law; Leiden University

Michal Šoltés

Charles University, Facuty of Law

Date Written: November 26, 2021

Abstract

To limit sentencing disparities, criminal codes divide offenses into subsections with specific sentencing ranges. To do so, they often use quantity thresholds (e.g. drug amount). We study the effects of such quantity thresholds on sentencing decisions and argue that the threshold effect can be decomposed into two opposing mechanisms: the severity and the reference mechanisms. We conduct a vignette experiment with Czech prosecutors and find that quantity thresholds drive substantial increases in sentences and thus lead to a new source of sentencing disparities. In the most striking case, the quantity threshold increases the average recommended sentence between two marginally different cases by 55%. Finally, using a new parametric measure of (in)justice, we quantify the effect of thresholds on the probability of a just sentence for a given level of tolerance.

Keywords: sentencing, quantity threshold, sentencing disparities, experiment, prosecutors

Suggested Citation

Drápal, Jakub and Šoltés, Michal, Sentencing Decisions Around Quantity Thresholds: Theory and Experiment (November 26, 2021). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3862637 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3862637

Jakub Drápal

Charles University in Prague, Faculty of Law ( email )

Prague
Czech Republic

Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic - Institute of State and Law ( email )

Národní 18
Praha 1, 11600
Czech Republic

Leiden University ( email )

Postbus 9500
Leiden, Zuid Holland 2300 RA
Netherlands

Michal Šoltés (Contact Author)

Charles University, Facuty of Law ( email )

nam. Curieovych 7
Prague 1, 11640
Czech Republic

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